This is a collection of news about border issues, particularly those seen from Arizona and regarding the right to keep and bear arms. Sources often include Mexican media. It's often interesting to see how different the view is from the south.
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

AZMEX POLICY 14-10-12

AZMEX POLICY 14 OCT 2012

Note: very interesting, more or less confirming impact ( and extent)
of intel ops and assistance.

Navy captures more narcos using U.S. aid
The Department of the Navy (Semar) has become a strategic area in the
war on drugs in Mexico, thanks to the support in the past six years
provided by U.S. agencies as part of a project developed in the U.S.
since 1993

The leading role of the Navy in the fight against organized crime in
Mexico is also a product of a growing partnership with the United
States, which since 1993 has set a goal of transforming the service
in a strategic area in the fight against drug. And he did.

The alliance, so far recognized with U.S. agencies, meant that during
this administration reached a historic cooperation, according to
reports from the U.S. Congress and officials from the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA).

"The challenge we have is that for the Mexican Navy, intelligence can
provide information to keep fighting, or otherwise look like they're
just lucky breaks and not the result of a professional job," said a
DEA official , who asked not to be named.

Criticism arose from the accidental fall of Heriberto Lazcano, El
Lazca, naval personnel killed in Coahuila, which was not the result
of intelligence work, and whose lack of timely identification, led
the body guard and was stolen from a funeral home.

"It is a fact that U.S. agencies have provided the Navy, through
cooperation, valuable intelligence whose results are evident," said
the source.

The news of the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva, El Barbas, naval
personnel killed by the December 16, 2009 in Cuernavaca, Morelos,
took a turn when Michele Leonhart, DEA administrator then publicly
reported that special forces of the Semar worked with U.S.
intelligence for the operation, while the government of Mexico and
service were awarded full credit.

Leonhart said the death of the drug lord "has hit Invalid leaving one
of the world's most violent cartels and occurs as a result of
cooperation and intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies
in the U.S. and our courageous partners in Mexico."

He added that "the reign of Arturo Beltran Leyva is over. His cartel
has been directly responsible for much of the violence that dominates
Mexico, and this operation is a model of our commitment to work in
close cooperation with our Mexican partners ".

Since then the U.S. agencies have continued to send information to
the Semar, especially the DEA, the Pentagon and the Northern Command,
on operations of Mexican cartel members, including those who do not
occupy levels of significance, but may do so in the following years
if not stopped, said one of the sources.

The potential Semar

"Since the early '90s the Drug Enforcement Agency and others as the
Pentagon made diagnoses that had the Navy potential to intercept
drugs at sea with U.S. support, but there were huge restrictions that
prevented even sovereignty U.S. personnel addressed Mexican vessels,
That changed when starting the administration of President Felipe
Calderon, "the DEA official.

Today information is exchanged and shared intelligence without the
need for supervision, for example, the Mexican Congress, only
requests authorization for the participation of Mexican Marines
practices in international naval exercises, which are conducted every
year.

On May 10, 1993, the Office for Government (GAO, for its acronym in
English), the investigative arm of Congress, presented a report on
the need to revise the drug interdiction strategy in Mexico, a
document of 61 pages which was originally restricted.

In the report, a copy of which is El Universal, the GAO reported that
the Drug Enforcement Agency proposed strategies to combat drug
trafficking in Mexico pointing out that the "DEA initially plans to
focus on overseas expansion until Mexican officials approve establish
roadblocks" further that "the expansion of interception activities
will require the recruitment of confidential informants."

He noted that "the big expenses are expected to provide equipment
related to the Mexican Navy, which will be a big player in the future
of interception operations. DEA officials and DOD (Department of
Defense), noted that the NBRF (Response Force Northern Border) needs
to address the deficiencies of the Mexican Navy team. "

Furthermore, the report explained that "the Navy has conducted
several operations based intercept the information developed and
provided to them by the NBFR. His involvement in interdiction
activities is expected to increase. "

At that point warned that "according to some officials of the Embassy
of the United States, there have been some difficulties in
coordination between the Attorney General's Office and the Navy when
their assistance is required to support operations NBFR".

Another GAO report, dated June 1996, states that State Department
officials believed that the Customs Service and the Coast Guard could
inspection training and boarding of vessels to the Navy of Mexico,
but Mexican law prevented the interaction with those agencies.

It stated that "the State Department official noted that the degree
to which the Mexican Navy is involved in drug control efforts will be
an indicator of the country's political will to address the problem
of drug trafficking."

The following seven-GAO reports between March 1998 and July 2010 -
continued to report the interest of the U.S. government for the Navy
to get involved, and grow its involvement in the war on drugs with
support equipment, training and intelligence agency and the
Department of Defense of the United States.

Alliance narrows

The funds intended for the Semar in U.S. government budgets from 1993
to date increased, and more flowed from the Merida Initiative.

The GAO reported in October 2007 on "U.S. Assistance to the Mexican
Navy," that since 2000 the Department of Defense of the United States
spent $ 58 million in equipment and training to the Mexican Army, "to
help Navy to intercept aircraft and vessels suspected of carrying
drugs. "

Since 2000, he said, there was greater cooperation between
authorities in Mexico and the United States in maritime operations
"particularly with regard to the boarding, search and seizure of
suspect vessels transiting through Mexican waters."

At this point, he said that "in recent years, the Mexican Navy
regularly responded to U.S. information on transiting vessels in
Mexican waters -46 times in 2006 - for example".

He mentioned that "the Navy agreed to temporarily place repeatedly in
Mexican liaison officers aboard ships of the U.S. Coast Guard and
U.S. officials placing Coast Guard aboard Mexican vessels. The Navy
also allowed to participate in some judicial personnel landings
search and seizure post analysis. "

However, he complained of the lack of a bilateral maritime
cooperation enabling agents or U.S. personnel address and search
suspect vessels under Mexican flag at sea, without seeking
authorization to the government of Mexico on a case by case since the
process results in the loss of evidence and the suspects pulled the
drug from the sea or escape.

With the start of the administration of President Calderon, expanded
Semar functions into the country in ground operations. In April 2009,
its owner, Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez said that since the
beginning of his term was set as a priority to strengthen the
operational schemes of the Navy to assist in the country's internal
security.

Emphasized the application of international agreements, the most
important to the U.S., without specifying the units involved.

By July 2010, the GAO reported that under the Merida Initiative the
administration of President Barack Obama asked Congress for U.S. $
260 million, the Military Assistance Fund (FMF, for its acronym in
English) "to speed assistance of air assets of the Mexican Navy. " In
the last year received three Black Hawk helicopters, an airplane
House 235, Persuader, with latest technology, three non-intrusive
inspection vehicles, and radioactivity detection equipment.